After the Heat Wave

With July's heat wave becoming a memory, we look forward to cooler temps on the upper mountain. Freezing levels have dropped back down to ~12,000 feet. Check out the Route Conditions on your intended climb for updated reports.

Heavy equipment and during/after photos

The road to Mt Rainier National Park's recovery is passing through some interesting terrain. Today, I saw a large bulldozer working in the Nisqually River. One of the vexing problems for the NPS is that rivers and streams have jumped their main channels. During a storm, riverbeds can become filled with debris, which in turn causes the river's flow to change its course. To some extent, that is why the Emergency Operations Center was threatened, and why the stream jump at Kautz Creek is causing such a repair headache. So to protect the facilities in Longmire, heavy equipment is now being used to clear the build up of rock, logs and other debris from the last rainstorm and flood.

The historian in me wanted to capture a during and after view of the Nisqually River. Here is the "during" image from Monday afternoon, Nov. 6th when things really started to roll. This picture is taken from the Longmire bridge looking upstream.

And here is the "after" view, taken today Nov 17th. Note the tree that hangs over the Nisqually River in both photos, and also the color of the river.

Phend-Fisher Family Reunion Ledger (1935)

The 26th Anual Reunion of the Phend & fisher families was held at Nappanee Park in the Pavillion Sunday Aug. 25th 1935

The Presideing Officers were
President Henry Phend.
Vice President Reuben Pletcher
Sec. & Treas. Cecil Phend.

The day was a nice sunshine day. The noonday Prayer was offered by Reuben Pletcher. Then we all enjoyed a good dinner, after which the buissness meeting was called to order by the President Henry Phend.

A song was sung by the group. The Sec Report was read and Approved. Offisers elected for following year were.
Pres. Henry Phend.
Vice Pres. Will Phend.
Sect. & Treas. Reuben Pletcher
Enterainment committee Chairman Evelyn Werely Bechtol

Death Report.
John Earnest - Elkhart
Sam Rinkenberger - North Webster
James Shaw - Elkhart

[page 2]
The History of the Phend & Fisher families was given by Fred Earnest giving a compleat History traced back to Switzerland.

A Special talk was given by Henry Phend.

It was moved and second that we have the Reunion at the same place next year on the last Sunday of Aug.

Treasure report.
Expence cards 1.60
Parks Building 2.50
Bal. In treasure 2.17
Collection 3.93
[balance] $6.10
[expenses] 4.10
Bal on hand. $2.00

Closing song God be with you till we meet again.

Reuben Pletcher Sec & treas



Notes:
John Ernest died March 12, 1935. He was the husband of Sophia Phend Ernest.
I do not yet have a date of death for Sam Ringgenberg/Rinkenberger (son of Christian and Caroline Fisher Ringgenberg).
James Shaw died July 1, 1935. He was the husband of Sophia Ringgenberg Shaw (sister of Sam Ringgenberg).

The Phend-Fisher families gathered for a reunion in Northern Indiana almost annually from 1909 until 1943. The events of the day were recorded in an old ledger book. Spelling has been retained as it was in the original though some punctuation and paragraph breaks have been added. To view all articles in this series click on the "Phend-Fisher Reunion Ledger" label at the bottom of this post.

Low water on the Pigeon

This evening we went for a kayak outing on the upper Pigeon River. Boy, the river sure has changed since the last time I was on it a couple of weeks ago. The water is very low now. In fact, the hulls of our kayaks scraped rocks more times than we could count. In some areas, such as this spot just below English Rapids, almost the entire width of the river bed is dry exposed rock. Two months ago I was able to easily float right over these rocks... that's not going to happen now!

Ocotillo Skies

A leafless ocotillo bush contrasted against the Arizona sky.

Day Two~Coco Cay

I am not a morning person. Nathan is a morning person. When we vacation we tend to live on Nathan's schedule which makes him very happy and me somewhat cranky at times. This morning however, I am the one that begged to get up extra early. I am the one that set the alarm for 6 am. Because I am the one that did the research and read if you take the first tender over to Coco Cay you will not only not have to wait for the tender, you will have the island to yourself for a bit. It turns out that the recommendations were spot on!



Coco Cay is Royal Caribbean's private island. It was much bigger than we thought it would be.





There is no dock there so the ship is anchored and then you ride small boats over to the island.



When you first get onto the island it is a bit commercial looking. Shops and restaurants and places to pay money to do day activities. We were there so early that none of these were open to begin with.



There are tons of beach chairs and many hammocks to hang out in.



I figured out which hammock would be under shade for most of the day and grabbed it right away. I was thrilled that I got to spend most of my day there, reading books and drinking fruity drinks. I didn't even have to get out of the hammock to eat lunch. It was my idea of a great day! I even had a buddy that kept me company most of the day.



Nathan joined me after he did some snorkeling and we snuggled together while swinging in the hammock. We decided we need a hammock right away. Hammocks are wonderful.



Beyond that, we walked around the island and enjoyed the very warm water and soaked up the beauty of all that was there. The water was just incredible. So clear and such a pretty color.







As you can see, we had this section of the island to ourselves for the most part. This part of the island was Barefoot Beach and for some reason, most people just didn't walk that far to know it was there. Which was fine with us! The time on Coco Cay alone made the cruise worth every penny.









We spent the whole day here, taking the second to last tender back to the ship. That night we had more night time fun and more great food. We headed to bed fairly early so we would be ready for Nassau the next day. We had a wonderful day today too. We slept well with lots of dreams about island living.

Focal points in the landscape

I was in a beautiful downtown landscape today with Ryan Snyder, owner of Ryan T. Snyder Group (843-425-1663). For a few moments we talked about focal points in that garden and their importance.

A focal point can be anything, really. A fountain, a piece of sculpture, a well-formed tree- basically anything that captures your attention.

For example, in this landscape, a large Stonehenge-inspired rock is the focal point. And I liked it enough to stop my car as I was driving through this North Carolina town. Simple and effective.
Not all focal points are intentional, nor are they attractive. A mile or so later, I saw this badly brutalized tree in the front yard of a house:
Even though the landscape is uninspiring, it is more than adequate for this house. But all I see is a sad-looking Bradford Pear. Unfortunately, this tree became the focal point of this landscape. The tree should be taken out of it's misery and cut down.

This is my cardinal rule for landscapes: Remove what looks bad and everything else will suddenly look better.

Poetic? No. But you will be amazed at the difference. A flat of impatiens can't compete with the removal of a dead Dogwood.

So before you rush off to the garden center, take the time to pull everything out of the yard that is dead or dying. Then take a few minutes (or hours) to prune out dead limbs from trees and shear the old growth from perennials.

Think of your landscape like it is a room in your house. Would you hang a new piece of art on a wall that needs a coat of paint? Not likely. You'd see the scuffs, not the painting.

It's really no different in a garden.

Couples

We don't have much time to double-date, but sometimes it's nice to spend time with another couple. You know - going out to the lake together, watching the sunset...

I think you've met these friends of ours before?

They haven't been out together for a while, but finally we convinced them both to join us.

The evening involved conversation,

dancing,

rock climbing,

and attempts at group portraits.

Our small entourage attracted some local bicycle enthusiasts, and soon we were chatting about refurbishing vintage frames to the bewildered glances of passers-by, until it grew dark and each party headed home. Our rod-brake friends always do seem to get all the attention. Must be their matching outfits.

The Copper Falls Trail

Monday, August 8th - - For some reason, I was quite ambitious today and went on a second hike. This was a 1.7 mile loop through the forest, along the river, with a few stair-steps involved as well as some other downhill/uphill sections where there were some handrails to help provide support. I'm not ashamed to admit that I made ample use of the handrails!



The trail would also cross two rivers in three places on very sturdy foot bridges and we'd see several waterfalls along the way. The pictures I took really do not do it justice. To fully appreciate the area you have to be there – feel the spray from the water and hear the roar of the river as it drops over the ledges and through the narrow passageways that it has carved out over many years. This was one hike that was definitely worth the effort!





A small portion of Copper Falls, which drops about 12 feet, on the Mad River. Like the Tahquamenon Falls, the copper color comes from tannin in the water.





A slightly better angle, but still showing only a small part of the falls.



This view shows it a little better – how the river has carved two paths around and through the stone walls of the canyon - but I think the only way you could get a really good shot of this falls would be by being suspended over the river in front of the falls, with a wide angle lens on the camera!



Flowing in a northeasterly direction, the Mad River essentially “runs into” a stone wall, making an abrupt left turn to the west. Coming in from the east is Tyler Forks. Visualize a rather crooked “T” with Mad River being the long upright part as well as the left hand part. Tyler Forks would be the right hand side of the “T” with a bit of a zig and zag just before and after it meets up with the Mad River.





Brownstone Falls is created when Tyler Forks plunges down 30 feet to join the Mad River. The name Brownstone comes from the color of the rocks surrounding it. They were formed eons ago from lava flows that contained small quantities of iron. Tyler Forks curves off to the right, eastward, above Brownstone Falls.





This picture provides no perspective whatsoever! But, there is the Mad River coming in at the top of the picture. The “whitewater” at the bottom of the image is actually Brownstone Falls dropping over the edge of a 30 foot cliff, plunging down and meeting up with the Mad River. Together they continue their journey as Mad River, veering off to the right (where the white foam is in the center of the photo). The sound was incredible. Not nearly as loud as Niagara Falls by any means or even Upper Tahquamenon Falls, but the sound reverberated around the canyon.





Okay, maybe this is a little better. But it still appears as though the water is flowing in from the right and the bottom and going out the top. You'll have to trust me, it isn't.





Adding to the sound of falling water was Tyler Cascades, which is a set of four smaller waterfalls just above and to the east of Brownstone Falls. Simply Gorgeous!



The trail followed Tyler Forks to the east a little ways then crossed at a point just above the cascades. By then the roar of Brownstone Falls was muted and the sound of the water tumbling over the rocks was quite soothing.



Oh, yes! This was one hike that was definitely worth the effort! And I savored every minute of it...

Everybody Loves a Lovely Bicycle

Sometimes, between trying to squeeze in 30-mile rides, obsessing about components and taking close-ups for product reviews, I forget the big picture: Beautiful bicycles can lift our spirits.



These two ladies areIsha Ware and Caroline Robinson, from the neighborhood, and they reminded me of why I like bicycles in the first place.



Today I fitted my bikeMarianne with a very funky new set of dressguards (from Simeli) and dragged her outside to photograph. On three separate occasions, women walking down the street stopped to ask me about the bicycle. They were clearly happy to see such a bike - eccentric and undeniably "girly", with a colourful "thingie" on the wheel, flowers on the handlebars, and a shiny bell. Isha (pictured above) was wearing an outfit that was the exact same colour as Marianne's frame, and so naturally this had to be documented.



One young woman (not pictured here) told me that she wanted to buy a bicycle, but found bike shops to be male-oriented and intimidating. I remember lots of stories like this from 1-2 years ago, but I thought that things were a lot better now. Apparently they are not completely better; at least not yet. One of my main goals for Lovely Bicycle, is that ladies who have been disappointed or intimidated by bike shops can find the information they are looking for here.



A nice bicycle can make even people who are not into bicycles at all - just people who are passing by - smile and want to pet it. The very form of a nicely designed bicycle is welcoming; the texture of its components inviting. Maybe it's a "woman thing". Or maybe it's universal. But it sure is nice. Lovely bicycles for all!

Early Valentine's Day for us

Laura and I wanted to keep with our tradition of Valentine's day ice climbing, but the temps were already up to 45° today and tomorrow is calling for warmer and rain as is the rest of the week. We decided to make Valentines day come early this year. We headed out to see if we could get one last day of some big ice lines. Our intentions were to climb The Beast and possibly a new mixed gear line on the right side of the cliff that we noticed last week. It follows a fracture line up a blank steep wall for 40' to a flow that continues up another 90' or so to the large Called on Account of Security ledge. Well we went straight to The Beast to see if the bottom 30' came in enough to get on it. It actually got worse since last week, but I was willing to investigate. I started walking towardsbottom of the climb to see what I could make happen with the unconnected pencil pillars, when all of a sudden I hear some rockfall. 5 or 6 large basketball sized boulders were plummeting towards earth in Laura's direction. I barely had time to yell "RUN" and Laura had already noticed the panic in my eyes. She took off like a bullet away from the cliff. All I heard was the loud THUD sounds made by the rocks hitting the ground behind us. I was having flashbacks to a day we had at The Gun club several years ago when the large upper tier collapsed and showered us with an enormous amount of ice, large ice. I was extremely lucky to walk away with only some serious deep tissue damage and Laura with a huge bruise on her ass. We could have easily been killed by any number of chunks that came down that day. I still question how we made it through the shower without being pummeled. We stood there for a few minutes, debating if this was worth trying. More debris was falling every minute or so. I debated alternate starts, but all across the cliff it was raining rockfall. Not the little scree stuff that falls at the end of season. We're talking blocks. The air temperature was rising quick and making things worse. Since this was our Valentine's Day climb, we decided to stay a couple a little longer and abandon this wall and try one of the others. We hiked back up to Central and looked down to the right watching things fall all over. Our new mixed line was a seam strewn with smaller chunks and blocks that are usually held together by the ice. It was out of the question as water was now running down the seam assuring us that all the rock in the crack were rendered useless for protection. We were determined to get our V-day climb in so we just picked the biggest, driest, safest line we could find. It was so worth it. I climbed the line enjoying the funky 3D climbing and fresh ice this weeks cold weather formed. I finished the pitch and built an anchor to bring Laura up. She was grinning from ear to ear up until the crux. For that section she had a little more intent look and even called out a rare "watch me". She pulled through without hanging and finished in great style. We enjoyed the view from the top for a moment and quickly returned to to the ground to head out before we pushed our luck too far and ruined our V-day climb by one of us getting crushed. It was still early, so we opted to head to Ohiopyle.

Laura enjoying our Valentine's day climb here in SW PA

The belay offered a nice angle for photos

So much fun climbing ice together, Laura lovin' it!

Smiling through most of it!

My happy girlfriend, the worlds greatest climbing partner.

Happy Valentine's Day

Ohiopyle was interesting to say the least. We walked to the top of the Upper Meadow area. To our amazement we didn't see any ropes set up. I started to walk towards the top of the climbs to peer down. All of a sudden a tool with a rope attached to it came flying up over the top towards an exposed root. A guy was tossing the tool towards the root with the intentions of hooking it to assist him through the last several melting out moves. Crazy bathook antics for sure!

You can see the tool laying on the root ahead of my left foot.

We watched for a few minutes before deciding to leave before the sky started falling! All in all it was a great day and we fulfilled our Valentine's day climbing!(a day early)

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